„Litter of several things?”

Generic and Compositional Questions in József Hermányi Dienes’s Works

Abstract

The literary work of József Hermányi Dienes (1699–1763), a Reformed preacher from Nagyenyed, has been the subject of much attention, but study of his texts which is sensitive to the reflective aspects has so far only been partially carried out. The paper classifies Hermányi’s various works from a textual-typological point of view, and then examines the generic and compositional questions of his main works (Püspökök élete [Life of the Bishops], Emlékirat [Memoirs], Nagyenyedi Demokritus [Democritus of Nagyenyed]). All three texts contain reflections suggesting that Hermányi composed his works with a high level of consciousness and reflection, despite their fragmented, mosaic-like nature. The paper also traces Hermányi’s use of concepts and terms, looking for potential signs of awareness with regards to certain genres.